O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 25-9-14 (2019)

Strict liability; bond authorization; civil penalties; advisory committee

✓ O.C.G.A. (archive.org 2024 item): print volumes of 2004-2024, per-volume vintage; older volumes partly replaced by 2019 Release 73 text; no 2025 or 2026 Acts
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) Any person that violates the requirements of subsection (a), (f), or (g) of Code Section 25-9-6 and when resultant blasting or excavating damages underground facilities or sewer laterals such person shall be strictly liable for:

(1) All costs incurred by the facility owner or operator in repairing or replacing its damaged facilities, excluding betterments. An investigation of any damages shall be initiated by the completion of the next business day following the repair of the reported damage. All repair invoices shall be sent to the excavator within 90 days of completion of the repair; and

(2) Any injury or damage to persons or property resulting from damaging the underground facilities and sewer laterals.

(b) Each local governing authority is authorized to require by ordinance any bonds on underground contractors or on persons performing blasting or excavating within any public right of way or any dedicated underground easement as it may determine to assure compliance with subsection (a) of this Code section.

(c) Any person that violates the requirements of Code Section 25-9-6 and when resultant blasting or excavating damages underground facilities or sewer laterals such person shall also indemnify the affected facility owner or operator against all claims or costs incurred, if any, for personal injury, property damage, or service interruptions resulting from damaging the underground facilities and sewer laterals. Such obligation to indemnify shall not apply to any county, city, town, or state agency except as permitted by law.

(d) In addition to the other provisions of this Code section, a professional licensing board shall be authorized to suspend or revoke any professional or occupational license, certificate, or registration issued to a person pursuant to Title 43 in instances when such person has repeatedly violated the requirements of Code Section 25-9-6 or

(e) Subsections (a), (c), and (d) of this Code section shall not apply to any person that commences, performs, or engages in blasting or in excavating with mechanized equipment on any tract or parcel of land in any county in this state if the facility owner or operator to which appropriate notice was given with respect to such blasting or excavating with mechanized equipment as prescribed in subsection (a) of Code Section 25-9-6 has failed to comply with Code Section 25-9-7 or has failed to become a member of the UPC as required by Code Section